Face the Light
by Inherited-by-Ocelot
Summary: A tag to Vol 10. of the manga, can also be a tag to ep. 12 of Beyond, but that played out a little differently. The missing time between when Libra came to the Rescue, and when Leo ended up in the hospital. Why? Because I'm a H/C fiend, that's why.


_**AN/ I haven't written a fanfiction in a very long time, so forgive me. I meant to post this a few days ago. Of course the standard disclaimer, and for those of you who have not gotten to read the manga for this, there is a minor loss of limb. I couldn't help but to wonder how things played out after everyone came to the rescue, so here's my take on it. Also as a side note, this was written at like 2am so everything might not flow as neatly as it could.**_

 _ **As long as one can face the light,**_

The parts collector was truly enraged. A priceless artifact of the Gods had been destroyed and the pest of a boy was going to pay dearly.

Originally the plan had been to quickly and quietly take possession of his body, but now he had no qualms about destroying the vessel and simply taking the boy's eyes for himself.

 _Leonardo Watch_. What a fucking waste for such precious eyes to be gifted to someone so unworthy.

 _ **And take even a single step towards it;**_

Gamimotz's rage could not be contained any longer. He struck out wildly now, scythe-like arms pulling back to give his hits more impact.

What he did not anticipate was that with all the blood loss, that the boy would still fight back.

His attack fell short momentarily, piercing through the meaty flesh of Leo's hand before he pulled back, cutting through the hand; cleanly severing a pinky as it went.

In that moment, if only for a fraction of a second- He saw a flash of defiance in those glowing blue eyes.

 _ **The human spirit can never truly be beaten.**_

Gamimotz began his attack again, raining a barrage of hits down on the boy in his rage. How _dare_ he. How dare such an insignificant being look at him like that. This was it, there would be no stopping until there was nothing left nut a bloody mess and of course _, the eyes_. He would then dispose of the girl and her fiancé, there would be no sense in leaving any loose ends.

The collector was so preoccupied in his anger, that he did not see the fist flying towards him until it hit him square in the jaw and sent him hurtling across the hotel room.

-Leo-

 _Michella_

He could feel her trembling grip on his jacket, and it took him a second to realize that the blows had stopped. He could see the blood pooling underneath him, could see the fear on his sister's face turn to hope and she looked ahead.

Leo turned to look then, tears welling in his eyes at the sight.

Klaus, Zapp, Zedd, KK, and Steven stood ahead of them, clothes billowing behind them like heroes in a comic.

He could not keep his emotions in check. With a sob, he crumpled forward and cried. He was far too relieved, _and tired, and in pain_ , to really care.

Leo heard Gamimotz yelling, then the sound of wood cracking and splintering. He heard everyone begin to call out their technique names, but their voices cut out. He looked up again as in a thundering crash, the monster was sent careening out the side of the building by one furious Klaus.

Gamimotz let out one final gurgle as his God's eye shattered and exploded into a large cloud of parts mid-air.

With the threat finally eliminated, Leo finally managed to raise his hand up to his face. He stared dazedly at it, a flash of panic flaring at the back of his mind as he truly registered the extent of the damage. He could feel Michella shift at his side, but he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from the bloody mess. He was beginning to feel light headed.

Leo only heard Michella call out to him faintly as the edges of his vision grayed and the world tilted dangerously to one side.

KK was the first to break away from the scene outside. She heard Michella call out to Leo as he collapsed, and whipped around to run to his side. She had to keep herself from crying out when she spotted his severed finger on the floor in front of him, but she gathered herself and knelt beside the siblings.

Michella was frantically calling out to Leo, hands still bunched in his jacket as she shook him to try and get a response. KK brought a hand to her cheek to get her attention, being gentle as not to startle her.

"Michella. I need to you listen to me, okay?" KK kept her voice low and soothing, something she had plenty of practice in for when one of her boys would wake from a nightmare.

The girl fell silent, and angled her head up as an indication that she was listening, but far too emotional to give a verbal response. KK could feel her shaking underneath her palm before she moved her hand away.

"I need to look at him, okay? I need to see how bad it is." Michella nodded reluctantly, and released her hold on her brother, but the look in her eyes told KK clearly that she would not be moving away from him completely.

Zedd crouched down at the girl's side, and she flinched back a little as he put an arm around her in a calming gesture. He reassured her, quietly telling her stories of her brother's strength and compassion.

KK saw Steven crouch down at her side then, pulling a handkerchief from his front pocket, and grimacing as he picked up and wrapped Leo's finger in hopes that it could be saved. She saw the way his fist tightened at his side as he glanced Leo's way.

Not wasting another second, she focused on Leo as well, quickly taking his pulse and quelling the flash of protective anger that welled in her as her hand came away covered in the boy's blood. He was alive, though just barely, if the quick and thready beating she felt was to go by.

Leo was covered in cuts, almost no part of him had been spared by the sadistic monster's rage. She would see the labored rise and fall of his chest, and the burns forming around his eyes.

Klaus appeared at her side then, bending down over Leo to clamp his hands over one of his larger wounds. She followed in suit, noting that the boy didn't even flinch at the pressure. That was frightening. She couldn't help but to bring one hand up to card through his hair, not to sooth him but herself as tears began to cloud her vision. If only they had been just a minute earlier.

Zapp joined the group, having finished calling for medical assistance. He was steel faced, not making any snide remarks, but instead looking Leo over for himself.

They all stood that way in silence for a short time. All gathered around Leo like a shield, until the shrill ringing of Zapp's phone broke through. The medical team had to call up and inform them that the damage to the building had taken out the power to the elevators, and that they would be unable to bring their supplies nor a gurney up the 47th floor to assist. Zapp cursed heavily at the person on the phone and hung up.

Klaus had caught the gist of the call, and did not hesitate. He could feel the boy fading under him, and there was no room delay.

He ripped his vest off and bundled it around Leo before gently lifting him into his arms. The boy's head fell limply against his shoulder, and Klaus could feel the weak puffs of air coming from him.

"Zapp! Zedd! I need your assistance." Klaus laid out his plan to them, and they began to do as they were asked without question.

Klaus was going use the quickest way down that he knew, and he had done it before. He asked for Zapp and Zedd's help to ease the fall and make it less jarring on Leo. Without a second thought, he jumped out of the hole in the building with Leo tucked securely in his arms.

The ascent was quick, and thanks to the blood techniques, the landing was smooth, having formed nets around Klaus and Leo before they had gone off the side of the building. Klaus was quick to track down an ambulance, and was relieved to be met with Dr. Luciana there. She divided herself as soon as Klaus laid Leo down, and began to get to work, hooking an IV line up to him, asking Klaus questions, and stifling the boy's bleeding.

Leo began to wake at the flurry of activity, and in frightened confusion tried to get up and move away. He would have fallen straight off the gurney if Klaus had not been right behind him. Klaus put his arm around him, and leaned forward to speak reassuring words in his ear. His words had an immediate effect and Leo fell back against him, the fight in him leaving and in its place, relief blossoming into exhaustion. Klaus would stay with Leo like this until he fell back into unconsciousness.

After all that he had been through, he was still fighting, and Klaus was proud.


End file.
